Our Product Philosophy Is Simple. We Always Put You First.

We never compromise when it comes to the quality and safety of our products. We make product decisions based on scientific fact, not opinion. We push the boundaries of innovation to consistently surprise and delight you. We always put you first.

Your safety is our highest priority.

“Mary Kay’s commitment to safety and quality is unwavering. We will not use any ingredient or sell any product until our high safety standards have been achieved.”
– Dr. Cristi Gomez, Director, Human Product Safety and Environmental Toxicology

To ensure product safety, quality and performance, every year, we spend millions of dollars and conduct hundreds of thousands of tests, including clinical studies with independent dermatologists, ophthalmologists and other medical experts.

All skin care and cosmetic products are regulated by government health and safety authorities. Although cosmetics standards vary worldwide, our guiding principle is to always deliver against our high standards. Mary Kay meets or exceeds the regulatory requirements in each market where our products are sold.

If we can’t verify an ingredient’s safety, we won’t use it. Of the thousands of ingredients evaluated in our research center by toxicologists, microbiologists and other degreed professionals, only the highest quality ones are chosen for further development.

We invest heavily in the research and development of new technologies that can evaluate the safety and efficacy of our products, and we collaborate with experts in the scientific and academic fields to advance the science of safety testing.

As part of our safety protocols, we conduct testing on multiple skin types because everyone’s skin reacts differently. These studies include assessing skin irritancy and allergy. With few exceptions, Mary Kay® products are suitable for use by people with sensitive skin.

Our commitment to excellence goes beyond the development of a safe and effective formula. To make sure our products perform well in the real world, we test above and beyond, like exposing them to intense cold and heat to make sure they can survive any weather extreme. Conducting gravity-impact tests to confirm packaging durability. And performing vibration tests to ensure the formulas won’t separate. We leave nothing to chance because we want to exceed your expectations every time.

WE SCREEN We carefully screen every ingredient. If we can’t verify its safety, we won’t use it.

WE TEST To ensure product safety, quality and performance, we spend millions of dollars and conduct hundreds of thousands of tests every year, including clinical studies with independent dermatologists, ophthalmologists and other medical experts.

WE INVESTIGATE We actively investigate and monitor issues related to product safety and take action based on scientific fact.

WE PROHIBIT We go above and beyond the more than 1,300 ingredients banned worldwide to meet our high standards of product safety.

Mary Kay does not conduct animal testing on our products or ingredients. Nevertheless, there are still some governments that conduct animal testing before they will allow certain products to be sold in their country. Mary Kay is committed to the elimination of animal testing and is a strong advocate of utilizing alternative methods to substantiate the safety of our ingredients and products. For almost three decades, we have been a global leader in helping to develop alternative testing methods to ensure product safety, and we will not rest until we convince all governments that alternative methods are a better way to ensure cosmetic product safety. Our commitment continues in partnership with global regulatory agencies that manage cosmetic safety, with animal advocacy groups and with leading animal alternative researchers.

We innovate to bring you excellence.

“Innovation is in the DNA of our company. We are dedicated to discovering the trends and technologies that enable us to create products no one else has. I am proud that Mary Kay is a leader in advancing the science of beauty.”
– Dr. Lucy Gildea, Chief Scientific Officer

To advance our leadership in science-based innovation, Mary Kay has invested over $100 million and years of planning in a new state-of-the-art manufacturing and research and development center that will open in Fall 2018.

Our Research & Development team includes distinguished scientists from around the world, holding Ph.D. and other advanced degrees across multiple disciplines: skin biology, cell biology, chemistry, biochemistry and more.

Our culture of innovation drives us to create products that no one else has. Mary Kay has over 1,400 patents covering everything from ingredients to delivery systems to packaging.

We are constantly investigating new testing methods that can confirm ingredient efficacy on skin so our products deliver benefits you can see.

Mary Kay has long supported scientific research in the academic community, including providing grants to the prestigious University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for more than 20 years.

In addition to strategic alliances with dermatology and academic professionals, unexpected partnerships outside the beauty industry also fuel innovation, such as our patented discovery that the navy bean delivers remarkable, skin-brightening benefits.

Your first product experience should make you want to use it again and again, which is why we also innovate when it comes to a product’s form, texture and finish. We want you to say, “Wow!” first time, every time.

In May 2018, Mary Kay sponsored an exclusive symposium at the International Investigative Dermatology (IID) Meeting, where the world’s finest researchers exchanged ideas about the impact of pollution on skin health.

Organized jointly every five years by the world’s pre-eminent skin health organizations from Europe (European Society for Dermatological Research), Asia (The Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology) and North America (Society for Investigative Dermatology), IID brings together experts in the fields of skin biology and related disciplines.

“Developing a formula is one part of our process. We also have to prove that it will deliver real results, and we do that by validating claims through clinical and consumer testing. If a claim doesn’t meet our high standards, we won’t use it.”
– Dr. Michelle Hines, Director, Global Cosmetic R&I

From a clinical perspective, there are dozens of instruments that can evaluate a product’s efficacy, and our scientists decide which ones can best measure specific benefits. Is the formula supposed to protect against the effects of pollution and the environment? Make your lashes look twice as thick? Visibly lift sagging skin? There’s a test for that.

Many clinical instruments are highly sophisticated. The cutting-edge technology we use can create a facial “map” to assess improvement in multiple areas to ensure overall efficacy. Or visualize the skin in three dimensions to show improvements in the appearance of wrinkle length, width and depth.

In addition to clinical instrumentation, we also use dermatologists and expert graders who evaluate the benefits of using Mary Kay® products over time to verify product claims.

The clinical trial before-and-after images we publish are taken over specified periods of time using strict protocols, including standardized lighting and focus.

Because consumer experience is important, we conduct extensive research with panelists who use Mary Kay® products at home under standardized guidelines, and their self-assessments become an important part of our product benefit story.

Because we are confident that you will be delighted by the benefits you see, we stand behind the products you buy from your Independent Beauty Consultant with a Mary Kay® Satisfaction Guarantee.
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